This is a repost of one of my favorite meditations. As I mentioned last week, I lost my best friend Fatberry after a long battle with cancer. I did this meditation every time we snuggled for years.

Repost:

“There are a hundred thousand species of love, separately invented, each more ingenious than the last, and every one of them keeps making things.” – Richard Powers, The Overstory

Our pets are so uncomplicated. We love them, and they love us. There might be naughty behavior sometimes, but they don’t disappoint us or betray us. The best pets are just so happy to be with us so much of the time. I like to whisper to Berry, “We love each other very much.” Pets are the best.

And there is such poignancy to pets. Unless you’re advanced in age or pretty unlucky, the 10-15 year lifespan of most cats and dogs means that we will live to see our beloved pets die. It’s a healthy and natural thing, sure, but that brevity means that we can appreciate the preciousness of our time with our pets. It’s finite, and on a conceivable timescale.  So when we’re with our pets, if we remember that they won’t be with us long, we can really be with our pets. It’s a Being Present that’s good practice for being with the people we love, and having the experiences we love. 

When you think of the shortness of your pet’s life, it might be easy to spiral into sad thoughts of their death. That is not what’s happening now. Don’t make this moment sad thinking about the future. Your pet is here now. You are with your pet.